Kings-Suns Preview

After failing to end their recent run of painful losses, the Suns will look to get back on track when their home-and-home set with the Sacramento Kings shifts to Phoenix.

It won't help, however, that they could be without their leading scorer.

The Suns may be missing Eric Bledsoe for the second straight game Wednesday night when they seek their 13th win in 15 home meetings with the Kings.

Phoenix (5-5) had been one of the league's biggest surprises before three straight heartbreaking losses dropped it back to .500.

The Suns allowed a go-ahead layup with seven seconds left in Wednesday's 90-89 loss at Portland before suffering a 100-98 overtime defeat to Brooklyn two nights later and a 107-104 loss at lowly Sacramento on Tuesday.

After taking a late seven-point lead at Sacramento, Phoenix committed three straight turnovers in the closing minutes and allowed the Kings (3-7) to score the final 10 points of the contest.

DeMarcus Cousins had 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead Sacramento to only its second win in nine games. Ben McLemore and Isaiah Thomas each added 19 points for the Kings.

Cousins hopes to continue his dominance against Phoenix after averaging 24.5 points and 13.8 rebounds during a run of four straight double-doubles in this series. He expects to play even though his left shoulder popped out of place in the second quarter Tuesday.

"After a few pain pills my adrenaline got going and it kind of went away, but it will really be hurting tomorrow," he said.

Gerald Green paced the reeling Suns with 23 points, Marcus Morris had 19 and Channing Frye added 17 and nine rebounds. Morris missed a corner 3-pointer and Cousins grabbed the rebound and made 1 of 2 free throws with just under a second left to send Phoenix to its fourth loss by three points or less.

"That one was the worst of them all," coach Jeff Hornacek said. "You can't go down to the end of the game and have five or six straight turnovers. We were just not taking care of the ball."

Green has averaged 16.6 points while making 15 of 34 from beyond the arc in five starts. He could get another opportunity with Bledsoe, who leads the Suns with 20.4 points per game, likely a game-time decision because of a bruised left shin.

Since averaging 103.8 points on 49.1 percent shooting from the field while winning three of four, the Suns have scored 97.0 and made 44.3 percent during their losing streak.

While the Suns have dropped four of five on the road, they'll try for their fifth win in six games in Phoenix. They've also played well at home against Sacramento, winning 12 of 14 by an average of 14.9 points.

The Kings have dropped both their road games this season, totaling 178 points and shooting 38.2 percent from the floor in double-digit defeats.

Sacramento, though, hopes to build on Tuesday's effort after matching a season high in points, hitting a season-best 47.0 percent of its shots and outrebounding the Suns 48-31.

Even with Cousins averaging team highs of 21.8 points and 9.7 boards, the Kings rank near the bottom of the league with a minus-3.4 rebounding margin.

Thomas, who leads all NBA reserves with 17.9 points per game, set a franchise record by scoring in double-figures off the bench for a 10th straight game to start the season. He's also played well against the Suns, averaging 23.0 points while hitting 8 of 14 from 3-point range in his last three against them.